Brush up your High School Musical

Tonight is the brush up rehearsal at 5 pm for High School Musical. No lights or costumes but a run through of the show. After being away from the show for a couple of days you lose the groove that has been developed. The show is still together but the timing sometimes has to tightened back up.

At 7 pm tonight is the Doubt rehearsal. Monday we ran the first 4 scenes of the play and last night we ran the last 5 scene. It was the first time off book for the actors so they called for lines when they got stuck and couldn't remember a line. This morning I spent some time researching Doubt. I came across a great interview with the playwright John Patrick Shanley on the Charlie Rose show talking about the play. Here is a link to view that interview-

http://www.charlierose.com/shows/2005/03/14/1/a-conversation-about-the-play-doubt

Shanley's comments are so relevant to the political and cultural discussions of the present. So often people in political discussions or in public are talking at each other to make their points. There is not a dialogue. He used the example of the presidential debates. Candidates try to represent a party or a type of thinking. We never get to hear what the individual thinks. When someone like me says something people think I'm speaking for the theatre. At what point can I speak for myself , express my thoughts and fears without it representing my place of employment or my political party or religious denomination. We have come to a place where Doubt is a sign of weakness. Imagine a candidate or pundit saying- "I struggle with that and I am still not sure what the right answer is."

But that is where the truth is to be found. There is a line in the play where Father Flynn tells Sister James- The truth makes for a bad sermon. It tends to be confusing and have no clear conclusion.

Another great comment from the playwright was about the audience. The audience is always the final act in the play. If a playwright gives away too much then the audience feels cheated. The final act happens after the show at the bar or at the restaurant over dinner or drinks.

Shanley talked of a husband believing one character when they left the theatre and the wife believing the other character. Of people who saw the Broadway show twice. The first time they were convinced of one truth and the second time they were convinced of the exact opposite truth.

It is a joy for me to work on a play like this.

Something that we are also working on is the maintenance of the buildings. The heat was out Monday and Tuesday in the classroom so Greetings cast rehearsed in their coats. It was fixed this morning. The repair man came out and tapped a small fan unit that comes on when the heat first turns on. It unfroze the unit and now works fine. 2 minutes of work = $100. Of course it was something we didn't even know to do. In addition we have water leaking through the brick walls in two buildings. The tuck pointing on the buildings needs to be redone. That will cost us thousands of dollars to repair. Is there a better way to fix the walls? Should we spend the money now even though it was not budgeted and the year is already tight? I realized that each day we all have questions that need answers but we don't always know which path to go down. Maybe that's why Doubt appeals to me. Learning to live with uncertainty that you will never get the full answer to some of lifes questions. You have to learn to live with a certain level of uncertainty.

The continuing water damage will cost even more if we don't fix it. That is what I finally settled on and told the contractor to schedule the tuck pointing work to be done. We need to move forward and to do nothing is also a choice that costs money. It will cost us less now than later even if we don't have the funds. I'm working with the contractor to bill us after June 30, 2009.

I spent some time yesterday designing the set for Greetings and talking it over with Phil Counts the director. Phil is still trying to find someone to stage manage Greetings. Audra Hall and Will Edwards were out sick yesterday. The rest of the cast is hoping that they aren't next with the illness that seems to be going around.

I'm working on a web page for Greetings and Doubt at the present time to go on our website. I will add items like the link to the Charlie Rose show and other articles about the show on the Doubt page.